After 5 years away from K-Pop BoA returns with her 6th album Hurricane Venus. This return to Korea is coincidentally in line with her 10th anniversary in the music business on August 25. (debuting at age 13) Many K-Pop fans have been clamoring for BoA to make a return and with that come high expectations. Does this live up to them?

I believe it does. This isn’t a typical K-Pop album as it doesn’t totally conform to the current sound. Instead you get a blend of what she’s done on her more recent Japanese album (Identity) and her American debut album mixed in with the electronica/dance productions that are so popular with many K-Pop producers these days.

It’s that mix of styles that makes the album work so well. It’s front loaded with the up tempo dance stuff with a short interlude of mid-tempo tracks in the form of Stand By and M.E.P. (My Electronic Piano) before bringing the energy back up with Let Me.

After that the album starts to slow down a bit before being interrupted with another dance track (Adrenaline) and then back to the mid-tempo tracks and ballads. I found the placement of Adrenaline strange and it did kind of break the flow of the album a bit, but it was nothing major. Other tracks of interest besides the lead single and title track are Game, Dangerous, Don’t Know What To Say and the lounge-like Romance.

This album is much better than her combined recent full length output from Japan and America. It’s much more consistent than Identity and definitely not as repetitive as her American debut. An excellent return home for BoA.